Moonlit Garden
by megaguy2222
Summary: He was the embodiment of venom, she was the embodiment of the moon. He was the predator, she the prey. How long could she resist? Eventual Predatorshipping. Rating changed because of later chapters. Later implied GenesisShipping. Sprites on cover made and owned by me. Songs that I think fit the fic. Bleach: Haruka Kanata (ED 28) Fate/Zero: Memoria (ED 1) Also on Wattpad by request.
1. Starving For A Friend

Rain, that was all he heard, other than his own tears hitting the pavement.

'Same old, same old, eh Venom?' He stared at the only family he had ever known. 'We both wanna get out of here, but dreams don't come true, do they?'

At that exact moment, a man walked up to the boy.

'Zarc?! No, it can't be. He died alongside Ray. Unless…' He then noticed the card. 'Starving Venom?! That settles it, Zarc must have been either reincarnated or split like Ray.'

It was then the boy took notice of him. "Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Leo Akaba, but you can call me The Professor." He replied.

"The Professor?" the boy tried the name.

"Yes."

"I'm Yuri, nice to meet you!"

"Are you a duelist?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, here's my deck." Yuri outstretched his hand. Leo looked through the assortment. His face expressionless the entire time.

"Is something wrong?" Leo gave him his cards back.

"Come with me. I will make you the best you can possibly be." Leo turned and started walking.

"Where are we going?" Yuri followed suit.

Leo smirked. "Duel Academy.

As a new student who had not yet taken the entry exams, Yuri was placed in Slifer Red. It was a normal day at recess until he noticed an older student beating up a blue haired girl around his age. After that, everything changed.

"Leave her alone!" Yuri yelled to the Ra.

"Or else what?" The Ra mocked him.

"Or… or…" Yuri realized that he had no one to back him. This girl would be injured and it would be his fault.

"Heh, look at him trying to be a hero. All talk, no substance."

That did it. Yuri leapt forward, biting, clawing, punching, and kicking.

After a minute, a teacher came in to break up the fight.

"That was brave, but stupid. Next time you intend to rescue the damsel in distress, be more careful. What's your name?" The girl asked Yuri.

"Yuri, and you?"

"Serena. Wanna be friends?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

Sorry this was so short. I mean really, I filled 2 whole notebook pages and part of a third. writing this. Anyway, fuse in next time for their first duel.


	2. The Starving Venomous Dragon!

3 Weeks have passed since Yuri and Serena met.

"Yuri, I have something to ask."

"Yes, what is it, Serena?"

"Well, field exams are coming up soon. I wanted to know if you would duel me as practice."

"Of course." Yuri replied. "I might also be able to try out that card… Super Polymerization… I found it on the ground a few days ago and asked the Professor about it. He said I could keep it. Where did it come from?" The two walked to a dueling arena.

* * *

"You ready, Yuri?"

"Did you need to ask? Let's!"

"DUEL!"

"I'll go first." Yuri declared. 'Cherry Inmato, Mystic Tomato, Fusion Sage, Polymerization, and Mirror Force.' "I set a monster face-down, then set one card and end my turn."

"I Draw! 'A Cat of Ill Omen, Catnipped Kitty, Monster Reborn, Card Advance, Super War-Lion, and Dealer's Choice.' "I set a monster and end my turn!"

"I Draw! I summon Mystic Tomato (1400/1100)! Battle! Mystic Tomato, attack her face-down! "

"It was A Cat of Ill Omen (500/500)! Now I can place a trap card on the top of my deck! I choose Appropriate!"

"I end my turn."

"I Draw! I set a monster, then I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

I Draw! I—"

"I activate Dealer's Choice! Now we both draw 1 card, then discard 1 card."

"Alright." Yuri drew his card.

"I Chain Appropriate, since you drew outside of the Draw Phase, I get to draw two cards!"

"I discard World Carrotweight Champion."

"I discard The Fabled Catsith, triggering its ability. Now I can destroy 1 face-up card on the field! I choose Mystic Tomato!"

"I pass."

"I Draw! I flip summon Catnipped Kitty (0/500), then I Normal summon another from my hand! I set a face-down and end my turn."

"I Draw! I Activate Fusion Gate!"

"I Counter with Dark Bribe! Fusion Gate is negated, and you draw a card! And you know what that means! I get two more cards!"

"I end my turn."

"I Draw! I Activate pot of Greed! I can draw two cards! Next I play War-Lion Ritual! I tribute my two kittens from my field and Rescue cat from my hand to Ritual Summon Super War-Lion (2300/2100)! Then I play 3 United We Stand, giving War-Lion 2400 extra attack points (2300-4700)! Battle! Attack his face-down monster!"

"Cherry Inmato's effect activates! Since it was destroyed, I can summon two more from my Deck in Defense Mode!"

"I end my turn!"

"I Draw! I play Polymerization! Two beautiful plants with an insect alluring-fragrance! Now become one, and from the nightmare beneath your pedals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Descend, Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)!"

"What is that thing?!"

"When Starving Venom is Fusion Summoned, it gains attack points equal to the combined attack points of all your special summoned monsters!"

ATK: (2800-7500)

"Then I play Heavy Storm to destroy all of your spell and trap cards! Now end it Starving Venom! Attack War-Lion!"

Serena LP: 4000-0

Winner: Yuri

"That was a fun duel Yuri."

"I agree." Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out two cards. "I want you to have these." He handed the cards to Serena.

"Star Changer and Ritual Weapon?"

"Yeah, War-Lion is Level 7, meaning Star Changer can decrease its Level by 1 and you can use Ritual weapon with it."

"Thank you, Yuri." Serena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. Yuri, however, just stood there, frozen. 'Did that mean something?'

* * *

Oh, and Yuri and Serena are around 7 at this point. And if you're wondering about Predaplants and Lunalights, those won't show up until at least chapter 4. But I dunno, Yuri seems to be developing an attraction. Fuse in next time for a field test and a blast from the past.


	3. Ghosts From The Past

_"Then I play Heavy Storm to destroy all of your spell and trap cards! Now end it Starving Venom! Attack War-Lion!"_

 _Serena LP: 4000-0_

 _Winner: Yuri_

 _"That was a fun duel Yuri."_

 _"I agree." Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out two cards. "I want you to have these." He handed the cards to Serena._

 _"Star Changer and Ritual Weapon?"_

 _"Yeah, War-Lion is Level 7, meaning Star Changer can decrease its Level by 1 and you can use Ritual weapon with it."_

 _"Thank you, Yuri." Serena gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. Yuri, however, just stood there, frozen. 'Did that mean something?'_

* * *

" _ **Ray… could… it… be you? I... ruled over… everything… and then you came along… You will pay for dividing me… for your insolence… I… I WILL REUNITE AS ONE! I WILL FIND YOU! AND WHEN I DO… YOU HAD BETTER BE READY!"**_

"What?! Who's there?!" Yuri was scared by the voice in his head.

Nothing.

"Must have been imagining things. I have to get over to the arena for Serena's match."

* * *

"I haven't been able to focus since my duel with Yuri…"

" _ **Zarc… I divided the dimensions as well as the both of us to stop you. I'll stop you if you try anything again. I won't let you ruin the lives of billions a second time."**_

" _ **You were always looking out for others, Ray… What good did it do you? None. How did you feel afterwards? Good. Did that feeling last? No. You killed yourself to stop me. You left your own father behind. And yet, you still failed in the end. You can't stop fate. I was destined to rule. You DIDN'T stop me, just set me back. I WILL RETURN!"**_

" _ **Zarc, what happened? Your intention never was to hurt anyone. You just wanted to make people smile. Smile through dueling. Isn't that what entertainment dueling is about? After that, you changed. You thought you were bringing happiness by hurting people."**_

"' _ **Dueling is fun.' 'Dueling should make people happy.' Decade after decade, is that all duels will ever be? I merely gave the audience what they wanted. More brutal, more exciting duels. My monsters' abilities prove it. After a while, there was no one left. Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, Starving Venom, and myself, the five of us, no, we are one, the one of us, that is, me, I wasn't satisfied. So I challenged the entire world."**_

"Starving Venom? Who are you? And who is Ray?" Yuri asked.

" _ **You will know in time…"**_

* * *

" **SERENA, PLEASE REPORT TO TEST FIELD R FOR YOUR FIELD EXAM. REPEAT, SERENA, PLEASE REPORT TO TEST FIELD R FOR YOUR FIELD EXAM."**

"It's now or never. But, who is Zarc?" Serena disembarked to the Test Field.

"Dr. Crowler?!" Serena was surprised that the headmaster of the Blue Dorm had appeared as her opponent. She was also disappointed the Professor called Yuri to his office, meaning her friend couldn't make it.

"It shouldn't come as any surprise, you know. This is a test for a promotion."

"If that's the case, I'll start! I activate the Continuous Spell Samsara! Monsters tribute for a Ritual Summon are shuffled back into the deck instead of being sent to the graveyard. Then I activate Watch Cat's effect from my hand. Since I have no monsters, I can Special Summon it from my hand! I'm summoning it in defense mode. I end my turn. Now, since I used Watch Cat's effect to summon it, I can set Ritual Cage in my Spell and Trap Zone. Your move."

"I Draw! I play Ancient Call! I can Special summon an Ancient Gear (100/800) from my hand! Appear! Since I have 1, I can special summon a second one from my hand! I tribute both to summon Ancient Gear Golem! Attack her monster! Oh, and by the way, you take piercing damage!"

Serena LP: 4000-2800

"I set 1 card and end my turn."

"I Draw! I play Ritual Reinforcement! I can add 1 Ritual Monster and 1 card with 'Ritual' in its name to my hand! I choose Ultimate War-Lion and Final War-Lion Ritual! Next I activate Ritual Cage! I take no damage from battles involving Ritual Monsters I control! Next I activate Final War-Lion Ritual! By tributing up to three Super-War-Lions from my hand, I can Summon Ultimate War-Lion (?/?)! And because of Samsara, my Lions are returned to my deck! Ultimate War-Lion's Attack and Defense Points become equal to the combined attack and defense points of the monsters I tributed (6900/6300)! Ultimate War-Lion, attack Ancient Gear Golem! Ultimate Slash of Battle!"

Crowler LP: 4000-100

"Oh, and when it destroys your monster, you take damage equal to its attack points."

"WHAT?!"

Crowler LP: 100-0

Winner: Serena

"You won, off to the Yellow Dorm you go." Crowler said, humiliated at losing to a 7 year-old.

"Nah, I think I like it in Red. Besides, I have a friend there. Fun duel though." Serena turned and left.

* * *

"So, Professor, what did you need to talk about?"

"Ah, Yuri, just on time. How are you doing?"

Yuri was hesitant at first about telling the Professor about the voice, before dismissing the notion entirely. This was the Professor, the man who had been like a father to him. He could trust him.

"Well, aside from some voice in my head talking about someone named Ray and reuniting as one, whatever that means."

'Zarc? No, Ray defeated him, but… Is it possible that Zarc 's will remains?'

"Professor?" Yuri's voice snapped him back to reality.

"You must be hearing things. It will go away soon. Anyway, come with me. I have something to give you."

"What?"

Leo led him to a room with two glass containers, each perched on a pedestal and with a deck of cards on them. Leo pressed a button to open one, took the deck out, and handed it to Yuri.

"This is your new deck. Its name… Predaplant."

Yuri smiled. "Thank you, Professor." He gave the older man a hug before leaving.

"Now, how are the Lunalight fusions coming along?"

"Cat Dancer is ready, Panther Dancer 54% complete, and Leo Dancer is at 20%."

"Excellent."

* * *

Guess this was the Zarc and Ray chapter, huh? Oh, and they're monologuing, not speaking to each other. Little Yuri is so innocent. Too bad I'll have to, y'know, turn him evil by Chapter 10. Anyway, fuse in next time for The Day The Devil Was Born and a gift from Yuri to Serena.


	4. The Day The Devil Was Born

All was peaceful that night in the Slifer Dorm, as Yuri and Serena slept, however, unbeknownst to them a pair of eerie yellow eyes illuminated an otherwise empty void…

" _ **Yuri… You could have been the one most similar to me. You grew close to one of Ray's reincarnations. It has made you weak. Starving Venom isn't satisfied yet. How could he be? There hasn't been enough entertainment. You've always been a part of me, and soon, very soon Yuri… WE WILL REUNITE! REUNITE AS ONE!"**_

* * *

Yuri sat up and rubbed his eyes with a million thoughts running through his head all at once before getting dressed. Who is this silver-haired guy he keeps dreaming about that looks just like him? What did he mean he was just giving the crowd what he wanted? A world that's gone up in flames? Who would want that? When is this going to happen happen? Has it already happened? Are these dreams even real? And, perhaps most importantly, what kind of dragon was that?

'Supreme King Z-ARC, just who or what are you? Do you have any connection to the Super Polymerization card I picked up?'

* * *

Serena approached the Professor's office and knocked twice. "It's Serena, Professor."

"Ah, Serena, come in."

"So what did you want to see me about?"

"Your new deck." Leo reached into his pocket and pulled it out before giving it to her. "Its name, Lunalight."

"Lunalight?"

"Yes. It's a swarm-based deck designed around quickly summoning Fusion monsters."

"Thank you Professor."

* * *

"Ouch! Stupid needle." Yuri had just pricked himself again. He had wanted to make Serena a gift since it was her birthday. His gift, a hand-sewn yellow hair ribbon. This, however, turned out easier said than done. He knew he could just buy one, but in Yuri's opinion, that would make it less special. He had decided he had to go all the way for Serena. Who he totally did not have a crush on, by the way.

* * *

After Serena had left, Leo called Dr. Crowler on his Duel Disk. "How is progress on the Obelisk Force recruitment going?"

"Ah, Professor. It's all going according to schedule."

"Excellent. Before I go, I have a request."

"What is it, Professor?"

"Do NOT let Serena fight in the invasion."

"I don't mean to question you, Professor, but wouldn't she make a valuable asset?"

"Serena has a different role to play in my plans. One which you will soon see."

"Ah, so it's because we can't risk her safety."

"Correct. That will be all for now." Leo hung up. 'I will never forget that day. The Day The Devil Was Born. It was the day I lost you, my sweet little girl. Soon, I will have you back, Ray, and that demon, no the devil's incarnate, Zarc, will be gone for good.'

* * *

" _ **It was an accident. But it was what they wanted. I gave them more. They smiled more than ever before. When they were all face down on the floor, their friends and families were horrified. They called me a Devil, whereas I was, undeniably, a God at that point. They opposed me. Fools. All of them. One. By. One. They all fell. Soon, all of creation belonged to me. You can't defy the will of God. They wanted it to happen. They wanted more brutality. I was simply doing my job. But then… SHE came along… My Ray… My Supreme Queen… Dared to defy me with those four Natural Energy Cards. My body may be gone, but my will lives on. And it seems a new power, one of my own design, has awoken in Standard."**_

"Shut up and get out of my head, whoever you are." Yuri was getting annoyed by said voice rambling and had tuned most of its previous speeches out.

" _ **It's not that simple…"**_

"And now he's gone. Finally." Yuri looked at the now near completed ribbon in his hands. "Just a few finishing touches, and it'll be ready."

* * *

"Lunalight, huh? Wonder if Yuri will feel like dueling later?"

" _ **Zarc was a cruel human being. And yet, I couldn't resist him. He caused the destruction of my home. He didn't start out like that. He started as a benevolent Entertainment Duelist. Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, Starving Venom. I can still remember the smiles, the right kind of smiles, he brought to people's faces when he put on a show with them. Soon, he stood at the top as champion. He called me his queen. After that, something terrible happened in one of his duels. He accidentally injured his opponent. He looked like he was in so much pain. And the crowd CHEERED for Zarc. It makes me sick just thinking about it. The regret in his eyes was replaced by something more… malicious."**_

"That sounds terrible. I feel so sorry for him." Serena started the walk to the Red Dorm.

* * *

*Knock, knock*

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Serena."

"Come in."

Serena gasped upon seeing Yuri's left hand. "What happened?"

"I think it's better to show you." Yuri pulled out the ribbon from underneath his pillow and presented it to her.

"I made it myself. Happy birthday, Serena."

"Yuri, thank you." She hugged her friend, causing Yuri to go as red as his Cherry Inmatos.

"So, um, Yuri, I got a new deck from the Professor today, and I wanted to know if you'd duel me so I could test it."

"Sure. I got a new deck yesterday that I've been meaning to test out." The two prepped their Duel Disks.

"DUEL!"

"I'll start. I set one monster face-down in defense mode and one card face-down. I end my turn.

"I Draw! I Summon Lunalight Blue Cat (1600/1200)! Attack his face-down!" Blue cat's attack destroyed Yuri's monster.

"You triggered Cherry Inmato's special ability. Now I can summon another from my deck."

'Just one? That's new.' "I end my turn with a face-down."

"I Draw! I Summon Predaplant Squid Drosera! Then I activate Polymerization! Two beautiful plants with an insect alluring-fragrance! Now become one, and from the nightmare beneath your pedals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Descend, Level 7! Predaplant Chimerafflesia (2500/2000)! I activate its ability! Once per turn, it can banish a monster with a Level equal to or lower than its own! Since your Blue Cat is Level 4, I can banish it!"

"Sorry, Blue Cat." Serena said to her monster, as she put it in her pocket, with sorrow in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Serena. I didn't mean to make you sad." Yuri was crying now.

" _ **Don't be sorry. Make Ray pay for what she did to us. Pay for defying God. An act which will not go unpunished!"**_

" **SHUT UP! SERENA'S NOT WHOEVER THIS RAY PERSON IS! I DON'T CARE IF YOU WERE GOD AND I'M A PIECE OF YOU! I WON'T HURT SERENA!"** Yuri's eyes had now become completely white.

" _ **You WILL obey me, Yuri. I'm taking over."**_

"What's happening?!" Serena was scared now.

" **I ATTACK YOU DIRECTLY WITH CHIMERAFFLESIA!"**

Serena LP: 4000-1500

" **I SET TWO CARDS FACE-DOWN AND END MY TURN!"**

"Yuri, this isn't like you! I'm scared!"

" **YURI HAS LEFT THE ARENA! MY NAME IS ZARC! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, RAY! YOU WILL PAY!"**

"I'll defeat you, and I'll get the real Yuri back, too! I Draw! I activate Polymerization! I fuse my Lunalight White Sheep and Lunalight White Sheep from my hand! I Fusion Summon! Ascend, Level 7! Lunalight Cat Dancer (2400/2100)! Since I used White Sheep to Fusion Summon, I can add Polymerization to my hand! Then I summon a second Blue Cat! Next I use Cat Dancer's effect! By tributing Blue Cat, it can attack each of your monsters twice! Then I activate Lunalight Rebirth! I can Special Summon a Lunalight from the Graveyard! I choose one of my Blue Cats! When Blue Cat is summoned, I can double the Attack Points of one Lunalight Monster on the field! I choose Cat Dancer (2400-4800)! Battle! Cat Dancer, Attack Chimerafflesia! Because of my monster's effect, it isn't destroyed the first time, but the same can't be said for the second time!"

" **I ACTIVATE CHIMERAFFLESIA'S OTHER EFFECT! IT CAN LOWER YOUR MONSTER'S ATTACK POINTS BY 1000, AND THEN GAIN THAT AMOUNT!"**

PPC ATK: 2500-3500

LLCD ATK: 4800-3800

Zarc LP: 4000-3700-3400

"Blue Cat! Attack directly!"

Zarc LP: 3400-1800

"I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

" **TIME FOR THE FINALE! SINCE CHIMERAFFLESIA WAS DESTROYED, I CAN ADD A POLYMERIZATION CARD FROM MY DECK TO MY HAND! COME TO ME, SUPER POLYMERIZATION! NEXT I SUMMON PREDAPLANT CHLAMYDOSUNDEW! IT TREATS ALL MONSTERS I USE TO FUSION SUMMON AS DARK ATTRIBUTE MONSTERS! NEXT I ACTIVATE SUPER POLYMERIZATION! BY DISCARDING ONE CARD, I CAN FUSION SUMMON USING FUSION MONSTERS FROM BOTH PLAYERS' FIELDS! I FUSE CHLAMYDOSUNDEW AND BLUE CAT! I FUSION SUMMON! DESCEND, LEVEL 8! STARVING VENOM FUSION DRAGON (2800/2000)! IT GAINS CAT DANCER'S ATTACK POINTS (2800-5200)! NEXT I ACTIVATE MONSTER REBORN! RETURN, LUNALIGHT BLUE CAT! THEN I ACTIVATE STARVING VENOM'S ABILITY TO TAKE CAT DANCER'S ABILITIES FOR ITSELF! NEXT I TRIBUTE BLUE CAT SO THAT STARVING VENOM CAN ATTACK EACH OF YOUR MONSTERS TWICE! BATTLE! STARVING VENOM, ATTACK CAT DANCER!"** The force of Starving Venom's attacks knocked Serena to the floor.

Serena LP: 4000-1200-0

Winner: Zarc

"Wh… at… happe… ned? Sere… na?"

"Yu… ri… thank… goodness…" was the last thing Yuri heard before falling to the floor, both of them unconscious.

* * *

So there's your first Awakening/Berserk Mode appearance. And Yuri and Serena are gradually growing closer, eh? Anyway, fuse in next time (Yugo's been annoyed by me saying that instead of tune in) for a bit of hospital bonding and an explanation of the Destruction Of The Original Dimension.


	5. Destruction on Two Fronts

Yuri awoke to the steady beeping of machines. He then noticed his upper torso was wrapped in bandages.

"What happened? That's right, I was talking about not hurting Serena and then… What did happen after that? It's no good, I can't remember."

" _ **I did what you couldn't. I made Ray pay."**_

"YOU! What did you do to Serena?! Where is she?!"

" _ **Hospitalized."**_

"What? Hospitalized? How bad is it?! You… You!"

" _ **She has blunt head trauma. My guess is it was from Starving Venom's last attack. I wish you had been there to see the pain and confusion on her face when I took over for you and pummeled her into the dirt. If you're lucky, all she'll forget is that duel. I don't think I need to spell out the worst case scenario. Though it would keep Ray from stopping me a second time."**_

"My only friend might be dead now thanks to you!"

" _ **We don't need friends… Not after our betrayal. All we need is power. Absolute power. Power to exist on our own. If you had never befriended her, you wouldn't have been in pain right now. Free of the chains society puts on us. People fear what they don't understand. And what they fear… They hate. Even if it's a God they don't understand."**_

"A… God they don't understand?"

" _ **Us… We were God. We had the absolute power I was talking about. We ruled over all in sight."**_

"Why don't I remember?"

" _ **Perhaps it's better to start from the beginning. We had no friends, no family. All we had were our four dragons. Odd-Eyes Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, and Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. We had no one we could depend on but ourselves and our dragons. We decided to rise to the top, no matter the cost. We eventually made it to the world championships, where we met Ray. We became instant friends. Eventually that became something more. I wonder if you'd like to know Ray's last name? It might interest you."**_

"What?"

" _ **Ray… Akaba."**_

"As in, The Professor's last name?"

" _ **He's her father. Regardless, we always wanted to make people smile through my dueling. At the end, we attacked with Odd-Eyes. We won. But something else happened. We injured my opponent. We were sad at first. But then, the crowds cheered our name 'Zarc, Zarc, Zarc,' more loudly and with larger smiles on their faces than ever before. They wanted more brutal, more exciting duels, and we, as entertainers, obliged. What performers provides things their fans don't want? Soon, there was nothing left. No one was left to challenge us. We weren't satisfied. How could we be? Our dragons hadn't had enough. Hadn't had enough excitement. Hadn't had enough… destruction. So we expanded our challenge to the world. Entire armies couldn't stop us. How could they? We, together with our partners, were invincible. We let them send their tanks, their missiles, their soldiers, their jets. Nothing could hinder the work of God. We destroyed them all. Killed them all. We… STILL WEREN'T SATISFIED! WE DECIDED TO QUENCH OUR THIRST FOR MASS DESTRUCTION BY BECOMING ONE! IN THAT MOMENT, WE TRULY BECAME GOD! THE MASSES WANTED RETRIBUTION FOR GOD'S WORK, AND WE PUNISHED THEM WITH THAT AMOUNT TENFOLD! WHERE WAS THE JUSTICE, THEY ASKED? FOOLS! ALL OF THEM! THEY WERE TALKING TO IT! HOPE LIVES ON, THEY YELLED. DELUSIONAL! ALL OF THEM! HOPE HAD LEFT THEM THE MOMENT GOD WAS BORN! YOU'RE NO GOD, YOU'RE A DEMON, THEY SCREAMED! AN EVIL GOD, THEN? SO BE IT! AN EVIL GOD IS STILL A GOD! YOU'LL GET PAYBACK FOR THIS SOMEDAY, THEY FORCED OUT IN THEIR FINAL MOMENTS. THEN… SHE CAME! RAY USED THOSE STUPID, STUPID NATURAL ENERGY CARDS TO SEPARATE US. WE SWORE WE WOULD RETURN! AND WE HAVE! AND SHE WILL PAY!"**_

"Are you done yet?"

" _ **Yes."**_

"I have to go see Serena."

* * *

Yuri stood at Serena's bedside.

"How is she?" The boy looked as though he was about to cry.

"Physically, aside from the head trauma, she's fine. It's her memory we're worried about."

"What… What do you mean?"

"I'm going to be honest with you here, kid. At best she'll have forgotten everything from the last six weeks. Worst she'll have no recollection of the last three years."

"I see. Thank you." That meant that, no matter what, she would completely forget about him, since they only met three weeks ago. With a heavy heart, Yuri placed her hair ribbon on her hospital bed and left.

When he was outside the hospital room, he whispered six words only he could hear. "I love you, Serena. And good-bye."

* * *

Not very long, I know, but I felt it was a good place to end the chapter. I tried to make the ending to this one pretty sad. Serena's alive, but has no memory of Yuri. Just as he realized he loved her, as well. How'd I do? And I guess it's worth mentioning that we're now at the end of Part I of this fic. Anyway, fuse in next time (Shut up, Yugo) for the start of Part II, which is post-canon.


	6. The Truth Comes Out

It was over. Yuya had defeated Reiji in their last Action Duel and purified Zarc's soul. Yuri and the other counterparts had gotten their bodies back. Yuri had decided to leave following Yuzu's revival. It hurt him too much to be around Serena with his feelings for her still intact. He had never admitted it, but he had secretly hated kidnapping Serena's counterparts. Why? Because it could have been her every time.

"Try to laugh when you feel like crying, huh? That might work for Yuya, but I'm not him. Even if we were both fragments of Zarc, we couldn't have been any more different." He then heard a knock at his door. "Come in." He turned to greet his visitor, who had turned out to be Serena.

"Why are you leaving? It's over. You don't have to card people anymore." It was true, part of his reason for carding his opponents was because of what they did to Zarc, who in turn had forced him to hurt Serena. It was revenge against society for causing him to hurt the woman he loved.

"Why does it matter to you?" He tried to maintain an uncaring image, whereas in reality, this hurt him more than she knew.

"And I thought you might have changed from being a part of Yuya for a while. I should have known you wouldn't care about how all of us felt. Just leave then. See if I care!" Serena slammed the door behind her as she left.

Yuri allowed a single tear to roll down his cheek after she left. He would have cried more, but it wouldn't be good if someone came in a saw him broken down in tears. He would be subjected to a night of entertainment duels, which would delay his trip, at that point.

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, he snuck into Serena's room and left a note on her nightstand before exiting the Sakaki household. Once he was a safe distance away, he pulled out a card he hadn't used in a long time. "Violet Flash." And with that, Yuri was gone.

* * *

The next morning, Serena woke up to her buzzing alarm clock, before turning it off and finding the note.

 _Serena, if you're reading this, I'm already gone. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand being around you. I left to spare myself the pain. The pain of forever knowing what happened 7 years ago. The pain of forever knowing where the ribbon in your hair came from. The pain of being forgotten. The pain of knowing... what I had done to you. They lied about how you got that head trauma 7 years ago. They lied about where the ribbon came from. They lied about where you got Star Changer and Ritual Weapon from. They lied about you... never knowing me. Why did they lie? Because I asked them to. I wanted to spare you the pain. I have the real answers to everything that happened. How do I know? It's because… I was there. Everything that happened was my fault. If you want the real answers, come to the Duel Academy Entrance in the Fusion Dimension at midnight. Alone. And most importantly, don't let anyone know about this note or where you're actually going. What I have to say is for your ears only._

 _Yours Truly,_

 _Yuri_

'What's going on? Better bring my deck just in case this is a trap.'

* * *

"So what you're saying is that you need to go to the Fusion Dimension? Did something come up?"

"Sorry, Reiji, I can't say why I'm going. It's a private matter."

"Ah, I see. Does anyone else know about this?"

"No, just you."

"Why not your friends?"

"They wouldn't have left me alone until I told them why. I just came to tell you so that you'd know in case something involving the Lancers came up."

"Alright."

* * *

"I'm here like you said, now come on out Yuri."

"I'm glad you could make it Serena."

"Alright, I came here for answers, and I want them. For starters, where did this ribbon come from? I was always told it was something The Professor sent me after hearing about the accident. Where is it really from?"

"That's easy. Me." Serena was confused at this.

"What do you mean?"

"I made it for you for your birthday. It was the day of the accident."

"Stop lying! We never knew each other before the war!"

"I thought I said they lied on my behalf in the note?"

"Then how do we know each other?!"

"Another easy question. Actually, I think I'll ask you something this time and see if you can figure it out. What do you remember from the weeks leading up to the accident?" Serena focused to try to remember, which would prove Yuri was lying, but found nothing.

"I… I can't remember anything. Did I lose my memories in the accident?"

"Unfortunately the answer is yes. Twelve weeks' worth of them. We met three weeks before the accident."

"That's why you said it hurt to be forgotten. I'm so sorry. They always told me that I had been injured in a duel when I had the accident. What was the real cause?"

"You just said it. The only thing you don't know about it is who did it." Yuri said with guilt in his eyes. Just then, realization hit Serena.

"It was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I didn't want you to know. I never meant to. I couldn't resist him."

"Him?"

"Zarc. He took over my body and injured you during our second duel. I never spoke to you again after the accident. I wanted to avoid the pain."

Serena then pulled out Star Changer and Ritual Weapon. "Where did I really get these from?"

"Me. I gave them to you after our first duel. You would have won, if I wasn't able to summon Starving Venom. They were for use with your Super War-Lion."

"How many duels did we have?"

"Just two."

"How about another?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, like we used to."

"Alright."

"DUEL!"

* * *

"Since I challenged you, I'll go first! I play Polymerization! I fuse Lunalight Blue Cat and White Sheep! I Fusion Summon! Lunalight Cat Dancer (2400/2000)! I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"I Draw. I set one monster face-down and 1 card face-down. I end my turn."

"I Draw! I Summon Lunalight Blue Cat (1600/1200)! Cat Dancer, attack his face-down!"

"Since Cherry Inmato was destroyed, I can Special Summon two more from my deck."

"I activate Cat Dancer's effect! By tributing Blue Cat, it can attack all of your monsters twice!"

Both Inmatos were destroyed after the second attacks.

"I set a face-down and end my turn."

"I Draw. I set one monster face-down and end my turn."

"Why aren't you attacking? This isn't fun at all. This is just boring."

"I can't hurt you this way."

"You're not attacking because you're worried about something like that happening again?"

"Yes."

"Yuri, you weren't yourself then."

"It doesn't matter. This way, you'll be safe no matter what."

"I Draw! I play Polymerization! I fuse Lunalight Purple Butterfly with Cat Dancer to Fusion Summon! Lunalight Panther Dancer (2800/2000)! Panther Dancer, attack his face-down! I end my turn."

"I Draw. I activate Polymerization. I fuse Predaplant Spinodionea and Squid Drosera to Fusion Summon. Predaplant Chimerafflesia (2500/2000) in Attack Mode. I end my turn."

"I will make you take this seriously! I Draw! I play Polymerization to fuse two Lunalight monsters in my hand with Panther Dancer on my field! I Fusion Summon! Lunalight Leo Dancer (3500/3000)! Next I activate Lunalight Balance! Since I summoned a Two Lunalight Fusion Monsters with other Lunalight Fusion Monster, Chimerafflesia loses attack points equal to the difference in the attack points of the monsters used to fusion summon and the monster I summoned with them. (2500-1800-1400! And my Lunalights can't be destroyed this turn! Leo Dancer, attack Chimerafflesia! And Leo Dancer can attack twice!"

"I activate its ability. Your monster loses 1000 attack points and Chimerafflesia gains 1000 attack points."

PPC: 1400-2400

LLLD: 3500-2500

Yuri LP: 4000-3800

"I end my turn."

"I Draw." 'Ultra Polymerization… Starving Venom… Does this mean?' "I Summon Predaplant Sarraceniant, then I activate Ultra Polymerization! By paying 2000 Life Points (3800-1800) I can Fusion Summon using monsters from the hand, field, or Graveyard! Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the nightmare beneath your pedals, give birth to a new terror! I Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs! Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)! Now Starving Venom gains Leo Dancer's attack points (2800-6300)! Next I play Polymerization! I fuse a Predaplant in my hand with Starving Venom!"

"What?!"

"You're not the only one who's gotten upgrades, Serena! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs! Sweet smelling flower that invites the abyss! Now become one, and indulge in whatever pleases you! I Fusion Summon! Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon (3300/3000)! I activate its effect! Lunalight Leo Dancer loses all of its attack points and special abilities (3500-0)! Greedy Venom! Attack Leo Dancer!"

Serena LP: 4000-700

"You… you finally attacked."

"I won't win though."

"Why not?"

"I activate Hammer Shot! This card destroys the monster on the field with most attack points! Sorry, Venom." The Dragon nodded at him in understanding before being destroyed.

"When Greedy Venom is destroyed, we both take damage equal to the combined attack points of every Special Summoned monster that was on the field when it was destroyed. Venomous Vengeance!"

Yuri LP: 1800-0

Serena LP: 700-0

Result: DRAW

"Are you okay, Serena?"

"I'm fine. That's what you meant, huh?"

"Yes."

"Serena, would you be willing to accompany me to dinner next Saturday?"

"Yes. I'd like that."

* * *

And with that, we have officially begun Part II of this fic. We're starting to move into the aforementioned (in the summary) Predatorshipping stuff. Well, non-platonic Predatorshipping at least. What did you guys think of the whole head trauma made her forget Yuri thing? I think it would be a plausible way to explain them not recognizing each other. Oh, and I tried to give Yuri some depth instead of being a two-dimensional caricature like they usually portray him in canon. How'd I do?


	7. Hi-Speedroid Rematch

I don't usually put ANs at the beginning of this fic's chapters but I thought I'd put this up here to tell you to stick around after the end of the chapter for a sneak peek of my next fic, _Yu-G-Oh! ARC-V Swing 2: Visions of A G.O.D._ , which is based on the manga. That will be all for now.

* * *

"Serena, where have you been, young lady? I was worried sick."

"Sorry, Mr. Hiiragi. The Professor needed to speak to me. I had to go to the Fusion Dimension for a bit." It wasn't a complete lie. Yuri had asked to meet up at the Academy.

"That doesn't mean you can just leave without saying anything. Next time, tell me where you're going."

"I will." Serena went up to her room, thinking about next Saturday.

* * *

"Yuri, you jerk, where did you run off to?"

"I don't think I owe you an explanation, Yugo. And I don't run. I teleport."

"You do too! You kidnapped Rin and then you killed me! And it's an expression!"

"Is your girlfriend all that's ever on your mind? From what I heard, you mistook Serena for her multiple times before your duel in the Friendship Cup. And if I recall, you challenged me, not the other way around."

"S-Sh-She's not my girlfriend! Would be nice though." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"Hey! Get back here! I challenge you!"

"Ugh. Fine."

"I'll start us off! Since I have no monsters on the field, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand! And it allows me to add another Speedroid to my hand! I choose Speedroid Taketomborg! Since I have a WIND monster on the field, I can Special Summon Taketomborg! I activate its ability! By tributing it, I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster Speedroid Den-Den-Daiko Duke from my deck! I Tune my Level 3 Den-Den-Daiko Duke and Terrortop! I Synchro Summon! Magical sword in the form of a cross, use your power to rend all enemies! Hi-Speedroid Kendama! I activate its ability! By banishing Terrortop, you take 500 points of damage!"

Yuri LP: 4000-3500

"Then I Summon the Tuner Monster Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! I Tune Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice and Level 6 Kendama! I Synchro Summon! Spread those bright and beautiful wings to strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Then I activate Den-Den-Daiko Duke's ability from the graveyard! By banishing it, I can Special Summon Red-Eyed Dice from the graveyard! I Tune Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice and Level 7 Clear Wing (2500/2000)! I Synchro Summon! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (3000/2500)! I set two cards face down and end my turn!"

"Not bad. But I can do better. I Draw! I-"

"I activate two traps! Follow Wing and Dragon's Bind! Now neither of us can Special Summon Monsters with less attack points than Crystal Wing, and it can't be destroyed in battle!"

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, I Summon Predaplant Chlamydosundew! It treats all Monsters I use for Fusion Summons as DARK Monsters! Then I play Super Polymerization! By discarding a card, I can Fusion Summon using Monsters from both sides of the field! And Super Polymerization's activation can't be negated! I fuse Chlamydosundew with Crystal Wing! I Fusion Summon! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! And since, Crystal Wing is gone, so are your traps! Starving Venom! Attack Directly!"

Yugo LP: 4000-1200

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"I Draw! I activate Re-Synchro! By paying half my Life Points (1200-600), I can Summon Crystal Wing back from the Graveyard! I attack Starving Venom with Crystal Wing! Crystal Wing's ability allows it to gain Starving Venom's Attack Points since its above Level 5 (3000-5800)! Crystal Cataclysmic Strike!"

Yuri LP: 3500-500

"I end my turn!"

"And I'll end this duel! I Draw! I Activate Miracle Predaplant Fusion! It allows me to Fusion Summon a Level 5 or higher monster from my Extra Deck that lists a Predaplant as a Fusion Material by banishing its Fusion Materials from the graveyard! I Banish Chlamydosundew and Starving Venom! I Fusion Summon! Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon! I activate Greedy Venom's ability! I can negate the effects of Crystal Wing and drop its attack points to zero! Now end it, Greedy Venom! Attack Crystal Wing!"

Yugo LP: 500-0

Winner: Yuri

"I'll win next time!"

"Keep dreaming. Speaking of, I'm going to bed."

* * *

I was originally going to include the date in this chapter but couldn't figure out how to write it. Oh, and Yugo wondering where Yuri was wasn't intended in a CounterpartShipping way. It was more like he wanted a rematch since they had their bodies back and Yuri left before they could have said rematch. Fuse in next time for said dinner date. Anyway, here's that preview I promised.

* * *

"It's almost time, Mistress Eve."

"Yes, time for this world to fall asleep and follow the will of GOD. If the world was meant to fall into eternal slumber at the hands of those who serve GOD, then so be it. GOD will give all of them their desired realities anyway. Why would they want to stay here when they could live their dreams for all of time? Find and destroy the reincarnations of Zarc and Ray. It should be easy. After all, GOD is with you."

"Yes, madam." 'It means I'll also have to fight THEM… Yugo… Rin… For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It must be done for the ideal.' "I take it I also need to find our ally?"

"Yes, do what you must to retrieve Sora. That will be all for now, Ren."

Ren turned to leave.

"Ren, those scars are proof of GOD's selection of you. Never forget that."

"Yes, madam."


	8. Together

You're probably gonna hate this AN just as much as I do, but with the ending I have planned for this chapter, this will be the last chapter of the fic. The fic itself was supposed to have been a lot longer. Wrote this one to the tune of "Kaisei Joshou Hallelujah (Fine Weather Rising, Hallelujah)," the first opening of GX. It seemed appropriate. I would like to thank all of my readers for continuing to support the fic. This is actually the second-shortest chapter in the fic. Only the first one was shorter than this one. It's been a blast. See you next time. Oh, and the poll I mentioned in the review section for last chapter has been taken down since I came to a decision regarding it.

* * *

"This is really nice Yuri. But why do I get the feeling we're being watched?"

"It's because we are. It's Yugo trying to interfere as payback for kidnapping Rin. Just ignore him."

'They're on to me! Time for Plan B!'

"How do you know?"

"He's easy to read. Besides, he challenged me to a rematch after I got back from our meeting as payback for killing him. Rin is the only other reason he would have. She's the only thing that's ever on his mind after all."

'IS NOT! And what meeting?'

Yugo quickly slipped on a disguise he had brought with him before walking to their table.

"Serena, it's me, Yugo. You need to leave before he does something bad."

It was Yuri to speak up. "Why must you think so lowly of me? We knew you were here, now will you take off that ridiculous costume, Yugo?"

"Who's Yugo? My name is, uhh... it's…"

"You mean to tell me you didn't even think of a name for yourself before coming over. Why am I not surprised?"

"But what was that meeting you were talking about?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because you still owe me."

"How?"

"I failed to ruin your date. Meaning you still owe me for kidnapping Rin-Rin."

"Serena, we're leaving. We're both done eating anyway."

"No, you're not. Not until you tell me about that meeting."

"I don't take orders from you, Yugo. Or your discount Fusion Monsters, for that matter."

Yugo was seeing red now. "Hey! They aren't discount Fusion Monsters!"

When Yugo finished his sentence, he noticed neither Yuri nor Serena were present. The only things on the table were two empty plates, a bill, and the money for the bill.

"That jerk tricked me!"

* * *

Yuri had transported the two of them to the Fusion Dimension via Violet Flash after distracting Yugo with his statement about Synchro Monsters. At the time, the two of them were on the hill overlooking the harbor.

"Why did you bring us here, Yuri?"

"It's just an all-around peaceful place. That's it. There was no particular reason. I used to come here a lot in between assignments from the Professor. I stopped around the time the invasion began."

"Why did you stop?"

"I just got so many assignments I didn't have any free time on my hands, that's all. Not to mention all the dimension-hopping I did during the war."

"That isn't all you brought us here for, is it?"

"I should have known you'd figure it out. Nothing gets past you, does it, Serena?"

"Got that right."

"I actually brought you out here to ask you something. Couldn't say anything with Yugo around."

"What is it?"

"Serena, will you be my girlfriend?"

"The answer is a thousand times yes, Yuri."

For the first time ever they were together officially. And that made both of them happy as they fell asleep in each other's arms.


End file.
